The Thai auto industry may have suffered a terrible year, with domestic sales plummeting by almost 40 percent during the first 10 months, but many believe the worst has passed and that 2015 will be a year of recovery.
Category: Automotive
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Car-makers on sales overdrive in India with discounts, freebies
It is a buyers’ market out there in the country’s automart. If you are planning to buy the first dream car or upgrade to the next one, then this is perhaps the best time. Most automotive companies are offering a slew of discounts and freebies through dealers to boost year-end sales in a sagging market. These include direct cash discounts, option of zero payment on insurance for three years with extended service warranty and loyalty bonus.
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Vehicle marketplace Carmudi expands to Southeast Asia
Vehicle marketplace Carmudi, which has presence in Asia, Africa and Latin America, is expanding in Southeast Asia, specifically the Philippines and Indonesia.
The company said the automotive sectors in these countries are thriving. The Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo) estimates Indonesia’s car sales to increase by 10 percent this year, possibly hitting a record high sales of 1.3 million vehicles. In the Philippines, the Oxford Business Group reported car sales increasing 43.6 percent from August 2012 to August 2013.
“Indonesians and Filipinos are driving more cars, trucks and motorbikes than ever, which means the demand is there for a high-quality classifieds platform that meets the needs of both buyers and sellers,” said Stefan Haubold, co-founder of Carmudi.
Car buyers can find or sell their car, motorcycle or commercial vehicle online through Camudi. The site offers diverse vehicle listings, with professional photos, detailed descriptions, as well as ranking for vehicles in each market. For dealers and agents, the site offers a business platform that allows them to have personalized web pages.
The site was founded in 2013 and is currently available in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Mexico, Myanmar, Nigeria and Pakistan.
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Decathlon signs up 2 new property leases in China
Decathlon, retailer of French sports apparel and equipment, recently signed two new lease agreements with property developer Goodman Group to set up two new warehouses at Goodman Citylink in Hebei Province, China.
The new leases have a combined space 57,200 sqm, which the company expects to enhance its distribution capability in Northern China.
Goodman Citylink is located at the Yanjiao Economic and Technological Development Zone in Langfang and has a total gross floor area of 130,000 sqm. Strategically located in close proximity to the 6th Ring Road which links to downtown Beijing, it is an ideal location for international brands to set up their regional distribution centres for Northern China.
“The retail sector in which Decathlon operates, requires the highest standards in logistics management and warehousing facilities. Goodman has the proven expertise, high quality offering and capability to meet the individual needs of customers operating within this specialized industry sector,” said Philip Pearce, Managing Director Greater China for Goodman.
Decathlon joins BMW Brilliance Automotive, which last year signed an agreement for Goodman to develop a 33,300 sqm built-to-suit facility at Goodman Citylink for its regional distribution centre for car auto parts in Northern China.
Goodman currently has 786,580 sqm of developments underway in key cities including Shanghai, Nanjing, Shenyang Tianjin, Chongqing, Langfang, Changzhou and Hefei, and a 800,000 sqm development target for the next 12 months.
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Indonesia’s rubber exporters hopeful on automotive recovery
Indonesia’s rubber businesses are eyeing a boost in sales and exports next year as the global automotive industry, one of the sectors that the rubber industry relies on, has begun recovering after being hit hard by the global economic downturn.
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Peugeot and China Changan Automotive in joint venture
French car giant Peugeot has agreed a new joint venture to manufacture light commercial vehicles and cars in China.
Peugeot has signed an initial agreement with domestic carmaker China Changan Automotive Group. If it goes ahead, the deal will give Peugeot a bigger foothold in the fast-growing Chinese car market.
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Synovate strengthens automotive research team in Asia
China’s Global market research company Synovate announced the appointment of Klaus Paur as Managing Director for Synovate Automotive Vertical for its automotive research unit in Korea and Greater China, which includes the markets of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. He will join Synovate on 1st January 2011 from TNS.
His addition supports the expected strong growth of the automotive industry in China, which has been changing its role from a global manufacturing centre to a significant market player.
Based in Shanghai, Paur will be responsible for leading automotive market research in Synovate China and Korea. Paur brings over 20 years of experience in marketing and market research, 15 of which have been spent specifically in the automotive industry. Paur started his automotive research career in 1995 as a senior researcher for quantitative and qualitative ad-hoc studies in Paris. In 1997, he began leading international advertising effectiveness tracking surveys across Europe and Latin America, and then relocated to Shanghai in early 2003 to head the TNS Automotive research practice in China.
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More room to develop for Thai automotive sector
The automotive industry is on a roll, particularly in Thailand, which recorded a 47-month high domestic automobile sales last November. With the economic recovery and increasing purchasing power of consumers, the automobile market have been registering high growth and this in turn give rise to the need for adequate level of aftermarket service care.
According to the latest findings of market research company GfK, there are a total of 3,200 shops in the country selling passenger car tires in the aftermarket. While tire specialist shops are uniformly spread out across the country, fast fit outlets make up a third of all shops and are more commonly found in Bangkok and vicinity area where demand tends to be higher compared to the other regions. Within the central region alone, more than one in two tire specialist shops are fast fitters.
The 160 exhibitors from 40 countries in this year’s Tyrexpo Asia exhibition make it the largest in its 15 year history, attesting to the vibrancy of the automotive sector, according to the event organiser ECI International.
Some other key automotive trends were uncovered by GfK Thailand’s automotive retail audit, such as the dominance of six main starter battery brands, which contribute nearly 95 percent of the total market sales. In addition, GfK findings reveal that conventional lead-acid batteries still take up the lion’s share of 80 percent sales in the replacement market as compared to maintenance-free batteries which form the remaining 20 percent.
“The Thai automotive sector is already thriving, but looking at the current market situation, there is definitely still more room for development; to allow for more players to enter the field. Having said this, automotive is big business in Thailand, and there is no doubt that the industry will remain very competitive and continue its upward growth trend for many years to come,” said Wichit Purepong, general manager of GfK Thailand.
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Myanmar’s automotive market to grow nearly 8pc in 2019
Myanmar’s automotive market is likely to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.8 percent from 2013 to 2019, driven by a growing economy, infrastructure development and increasing income, new analysis from Frost & Sullivan showed.
Currently dominated by used vehicles, the market is expected to reach 95,300 in 2019 also due to greater integration with ASEAN.
Dushyant Sinha, Associate Director, Automotive Practice, Asia-Pacific at Frost & Sullivan, however, said that factors such as unpredictable regulatory changes, high car prices, under-developed auto service market and inadequate road infrastructure might hinder the potential growth.
Myanmar is highly dependent on two-wheelers, accounting for more than 80 percent of the market while passenger cars represent 11 percent. Meanwhile, trucks and buses only make up 3 percent and 1 percent, respectively. A young labour force with a high two-wheeler ownership promises a potential car buying group in the long term.
Dushyant said Japanese brands are expected to continue dominating the passenger vehicle market even in 2019, with Honda, Suzuki and Nissan gaining popularity thanks to their small car offerings (such as Honda Fit/Brio, Suzuki Swift, and Nissan March) which would appeal to Myanmar customers. Chinese and Korean brands will also see growth due to their more affordable prices and smaller engine sizes compared to their Japanese counterparts.